before the healers could get to him.
“He did. Unfortunately, Miisan wrote in cypher a lot of the time, so it took Laarn a few years to crack the particular code she used. But now that he has, there is apparently a cache of information buried in an AI that was coded from her brain patterns. More research on the technique she was perfecting. I need you to retrieve it.”
“There is no copy of the AI with the technology hall?”
Relief rolled through Nyek at the surprise that colored Danaar’s voice. He wasn’t the only one being caught on the back foot by some of this new information.
Daaynal shook his head, his expression somewhere between frustration and remembered grief. “Toward the end of her life, just before she succumbed to the plague herself, Miisan became increasingly secretive and paranoid. She was convinced someone was trying to steal her research and use it against her. Hence the use of cyphers and hidden caches of information.”
From the glance the emperor sent his way, it wasn’t difficult to work out who that someone was.
“She was worried about traditionalists stealing information?”
Both males looked at him, and Daaynal nodded before frowning and shaking his head. “No, not really traditionalists. The fanatics within that eventually became the purist movement. She warned me about them years ago, I should have listened to her. I could have saved a lot of heartache and loss of life.”
There was nothing Nyek could say to that. It was the truth and they all knew it. The purist movement had been born out of the agony of the plague, traditionalists who blamed the loss of their females on advances in technology. On the increasing usage of genetic manipulation.
It’s divine retribution... His father’s voice rasped in his ear accusingly. All your fault. Your mother died because of YOU. You killed her so you might live.
His face set into implacable lines as he ignored the voice. It was an old hurt, one he’d lived with all his life and a sin he’d already atoned for with his life blood.
“Your Majesty?” Danaar prompted, bringing Daaynal back from his grief to the conversation. Quickly, the warrior emperor looked up, rebuilding himself in a heartbeat, but it was too late. Nyek had already seen through the chink in his armor and viewed the truth.
Daaynal K’Saan blamed himself for his sister’s death.
“Yes... The AI. It was aboard my private flyer and was lost when a mission one of my senior warriors was on went sideways. I need for you to head to the Rivaas Sector, locate the flyer and retrieve the AI.”
Nyek pursed his lips, running his fingers over the short stubble on his jaw as the image in front of them changed to a view of the Rivaas Sector. He was more than familiar with the area. The Tev’tolath skirted the edge of it on several of its regular routes.
“There’s been a huge increase in pirate activity in that area recently,” he pointed out. “It would be suicide for a single ship, even one such as the Izal’vias, to head in there alone.”
Hells, if they did send in the Izal’vias, the pirates would think all their naming days had come at once. There would be a bloodbath between the different groups as they fought to be the first with a capital ship in their arsenal.
“Which is why we will not be sending the Izal’vias,” Danaar decided, his brow furrowed as he looked over the plans of the system. Lifting a hand, he pointed at a line drawn through the sector, which then disappeared. “This is the flight plan of the shuttle, I assume?”
“Correct. Karryl says they crashed somewhere in this system, after which they were captured by the F’Naar. I suggest you start your search there and spiral outward.”
Nyek nodded. “Three transports could sneak in under the pirates’ radars and conduct a search. If all goes well, they will locate the shuttle and be back with the AI before the pirates even realize they’re in the area.”
“Excellent! I shall leave you two to sort the details. Keep me updated.” And with those words, the emperor cut the connection. One moment he was there, large as life sitting next to them, and the next the seat was empty.
“I draanthing hate it when he does that,” Danaar growled, shaking his head. He refocused his attention on Nyek and the sector map in front of them. “We’ll bring the Izal’vias to position here, orbiting Senesta. We can use the cover of allowing